February 15 Events

Susan B. Anthony Day

Today more women serve in public office and hold leadership positions that had previously been held solely by men. Born on February 15, 1820, Susan Brownell Anthony met Elizabeth Cady Stanton in 1851 and attended her first women’s rights convention in Syracuse in 1852, where she joined the fight to get women the right to vote, arguing that, “the right women needed above every other...was the right of suffrage.” With Elizabeth Cady Stanton, she founded the New York Women’s State Temperance Society. The first proposal for women’s suffrage was presented to Congress in 1868 and Susan B. Anthony appeared before every Congress from 1869 to 1906 to ask for passage of a suffrage amendment. She voted in the presidential election of 1872. She served as the president of the National Woman Suffrage Association from 1892 until 1900.

The first formal women’s suffrage amendment to the Constitution of the United States was introduced in January 1878 and was subsequently introduced in every session of Congress for the next 41 years. Before her death on March 13, 1906, Susan B. Anthony’s last public words were, “Failure is impossible”.

Unfortunately, Susan B. Anthony did not live to realize her dream of women’s suffrage, but thankfully her legacy survives. On May 21, 1919, the House of Representatives passed the 19th Amendment, and two weeks later, the Senate followed. The Secretary of State, Bainbridge Colby, certified the ratification on August 26, 1920. The text of the 19th amendment is: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

Congresswoman Maloney has led the fight to have a day officially dedicated to the memory of an influential woman in the country’s history. The Congresswoman introduced the Susan B. Anthony Birthday Act in 2011, which would designate the third Monday in February as a day to celebrate the legacy of Susan B. Anthony. “There are many woman who helped shape this country, and Susan B. Anthony is at the top of that list,” said Maloney.

Surprising Facts About Susan B. Anthony: She was the first real woman depicted on U.S. currency in 1979. In 1942, a ship was named for Susan B. Anthony. Built in 1930 and called the Santa Clara until the Navy chartered it on August 7, 1942, the ship became one of very few named for a woman.In the state of Wisconsin, Susan B. Anthony Day is an established state holiday, enacted into law April 15, 1976, from the 1975 Laws of Wisconsin, Chapter 307, section 20.